


Novis Initiis

by Snorp_Lord



Series: The Manor [4]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: The End
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:40:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27558487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snorp_Lord/pseuds/Snorp_Lord
Summary: Unus and Annus discuss the end.
Series: The Manor [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2012359
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	Novis Initiis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silverpaintedwings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverpaintedwings/gifts).



000:00:05:00

“So...The end.” 

Unus glanced over at his partner, letting the words hang. Often when he said something so cryptic, it was a fifty-fifty chance as to whether he wanted silence or for someone to ask him what he meant. Not that Annus was usually clear and concise, but all the same. Something about the timer had made him unusually nostalgic. 

When there was no follow up, he finally nodded. “The end. One year. We knew it was coming, but…”

“Is it just me, or did it feel...short? Especially towards the end. Even now, look-” They stood on the other side of the countdown’s screen, watching each second of their limited lives drain away like sand in an hourglass. Each tick of the timer almost deafening in the otherwise silent darkness. “Just a few minutes. And then it’ll all be gone. Us. What we did. They’ll erase it all.”

“That’s what we agreed to.” It came out a little too sharp to leave it there. And it wouldn’t be fair on Annus to let think he was being irrational. Or rather, that he was the only one being irrational. “...But I have to say, it...went faster than I ever thought it would. A year sounds so long at the start, and it’s so short at the end. Less than five minutes.”

“We’re closer to three minutes now.”

“Do you think this will hurt?”

Annus turned slightly to face him. “What do you mean? Hurt?”

“Not like the stuff in the videos. Not like the pepper spray or a taser or anything. It’s a different kind of hurt.”

“...Then no. I don’t think it will. We said all we had to say, these last few hours, didn’t we? Thanked the editors and Amy and everyone else. We even hit a million likes on a livestream. Can’t remember the last time I did that. Ever.”

“I don’t think I ever hit a million likes on a stream. While it was still live, I mean.”

“Point being, even outside of all the analytics, all the numbers- we did something good. We did something we’ve never done. Something nobody’s ever done. And nobody’s ever going to do Unus Annus again.”

He nodded, glancing up again at the countdown. There was a shake in his hands that hadn’t been there before, but no tears, thank goodness. This wasn’t something to cry about. This was exactly what they’d been working towards. The moment it all went away.

A gentle hand landed on his shoulder. “It’s alright. I’m proud of you, Ethan.”

“I love you, Mark.” 

They turned away from the clock, towards each other. “We’ll do new things. Together. Think of this like a rebirth. We can do whatever we want. We have time. We can do anything. The hand not still resting on Ethan’s shoulder was held out between them. “To...new beginnings.”

Ethan took his hand eagerly.  _ “Novis Initiis.” _

“...You’ve been planning that one all year, haven’t you?”


End file.
